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The Hat Trick: Bruins Can't Take Chara's Lead

The Bruins captain jumped out of his normal composed shell, barging all over the rink and playing deliberate hockey.

Chara’s teammates failed to follow his lead.

Seemingly disinterested in raising their intensity in the third period, the Bruins were outmuscled, outworked and outscored in Monday night's 3-1 loss to the Flyers.

Holding a 1-0 lead entering the third, Boston failed to effectively respond as Philadelphia dug in to build a 12-3 shot advantage in the first 10 minutes of the final period, tying the game on a goal by James van Riemsdyk and then going ahead on a tally by Kimmo Timonen.

Timonen finished a three-point night (2 goals, 1 assist) by lofting a 190-foot shot into an empty net during a B's power play in the final minute to secure the Flyers win.

“I thought that in the third we were really flat for whatever reasons,” Chara told reporters. “We lost a number of battles in our zone, they were just, I think, more hungry than us.”

For the second consecutive game, Boston met a team that was willing to bring a spirited physical game. And as was the case in a 3-2 overtime loss on Long Island Saturday, the Bruins failed to meet the challenge.

Whether it was the presence of Chris Pronger (30-plus minutes of ice time) along the Philadelphia blue line, the consistent edgy play of Scott Hartnell or just one of those nights, the Bruins simply didn’t want the puck as much as the Flyers did.

“Losing battles, losing races to the puck, it is not a complicated game,” Bruins coach Claude Julien said.“You aren’t going to hear me get into the little details or X's and O's. It had nothing to do with that. They started coming onto us. They started putting pucks on net and were winning races and battles.”

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NO GOAL ... GET OVER IT

How a team responds to tough calls by a referee is often a good barometer of its mental toughness. You have to wonder how the Bruins fared in that regard Monday.

Just 2:15 into the game, Boston forward Vladimir Sobotka crashed the Philadelphia net and the puck skittered behind Flyers goalie Brian Boucher as he was toppled by Sobotka and a defenseman, knocking the net from its pins.

The goal was disallowed. Hardly a rare occurrence in the NHL, especially in situations involving the net being dislodged or a goalie impeded from making a save.

“Yeah I thought it was a goal,” said Sobotka, who did ultimately give Boston a 1-0 lead with a second-period tally. “I don’t know what happened there. I talked to coach and [he thought] it was goal, it was in the net, but I didn’t see the replay that much yet so I don’t know what happened out there.”

There were 57 minutes and 45 seconds still to be played after the goal was waived off. Yet the Bruins seemed to be thrown off their game simply because things didn’t go their way early in the contest. Couple it with the lackluster effort in third period and there’s a sense the Bruins may have reached a point where they simply expect they are entitled to have things go their way against a struggling team, instead of earning results.

“I know we want to be better, and we've got to show it out on the ice. We can’t just throw our sticks out there, we’re not that good a team,” said center Marc Savard, who was a minus-3 on the night and has failed to generate a point in three games since recording a hat trick against Toronto on Dec. 5.

“Like I said, we need to take it upon ourselves right here and be better,” Savard said.

Julien had moved Michael Ryder and Byron Bitz onto the wings with Savard Monday, but the new combination failed to generate immediate results.

“That line was not very good for us tonight, Julien said. “[Savard] has to take some of that responsibility, but it is not a one-man line. He needs his wingers, and his wingers were not very good for him, either, tonight.”

NEITHER DENNIS WIDEMAN NOR THE BRUINS WERE HURT BY THEIR PENALTY-KILLING EFFORT

The Bruins' top-ranked penalty-killing unit remained a bright spot in the loss, shutting down all four Philadelphia power plays. B’s penalty-killers were put to a major test in the first period, having to combat a Flyers 5-on-3 advantage for 72 seconds.

Tim Thomas swatted away three shots, Wideman blocked two more and Derek Morris punctuated the effort, landing a hip check against Claude Girouxto keep Philly off the scoreboard.

The effort appeared that it may have come at a price, however, as Wideman left the game at the end of the second period and did not return. But Julien said there was no connection.

“It had nothing to do with that part of the game,” Julien said of Wideman’s injury. “We will know more tomorrow. I don’t even know the extent of it right now. “

THE FOURTH LINE DID ITS PART

They are not counted on to generate considerable offense, but it’s always a welcome bonus when the players on the Bruins energy line get on the scoreboard.

With the B’s top three lines held in check, Boston was able to open the scoring Monday when Shawn Thornton gathered the puck behind the Philly net, moved to the corner to Boucher’s right and spun to quickly whisk the puck toward the crease. Sobotka made a slick deflection, and the Bruins had a 1-0 lead.

The goal was the first by Boston’s energy line in just under a month. Daniel Paille had scored against the Islanders on Nov. 15.

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